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TO THE 











Ji.1^ 



OF 



RMODE-ISLAND. 



BY A FH^SEMAJV. 



PROVI!K\CE, R. I. 

OFFICE OF T IE REPUR' I CAN HERALD 
JOHN S. GREENE, PRINTER. 

1829. 



HINTS TO PAHM^ES- 



FELLOW CITIZENS.— 

J', is; ilip boijiuJen duty of every citizen of tho Republic, to ex- 
amine and enquire into its state and coiidition. No republic can 
be preserved in its purity except tbe individuals iliat coinposi it 
are vigilant and watchful upon the administration ol' its concerns. 
g». Rhode-Island was once prosperous and hajipv — her le^i^^lalors v\-ere 
** wise and prudent, and her finances were adininisierv;d with ecoiio- 
^ my But that day has passed away. Poverty, distress and ruin, 
vvitli a steady pace, are marcliinir up(in us. For the last six years, 
.., our State council, squaring their co!>duct by ihe rule t)4^ ihoir ar- 
^ istocratic master, " tlie arm of the Represeniaiive has not be»n 
'^ palsied by the will of the constituent;" and our resources have 
been scattered and wasted in delirious extravagance. But a tew 
years a<):o, the annua! expenses of this State did not exceed !^7,lt(]0, 
and now they have swelled to the startling amount oi more than 
$18,000, exclusive of the money devoted to the Scliool fund. 
There are but two legitimate hems that ought to be added to our 
former expenditures, viz. the c«»inpensatioii to Representatives and 
Jurors. The Senate were paid under the former appropriation. 
Then for one moment enquire and calculate, whetlier the pay of 
Representatives and Jurors does create liie diffennce between 
the ?^7,0()tt and the -'? 18,000. The house of Representatives con- 
sists of 72 members — i'o are the average number that attend ; and 
calculating that the Legislature sits '26 days, including going and 
returning, the pay of the Representatives will amount to $2,r>o5 
Adding the former expenditure . . - 7,0<50 

Added ....-- $9/>35 

Our present expenditure . - - 618,000 

And dedurlincf our former expenditure and Representa- 
tivespay ._---- »,Oc>o 



Excess _-..-- §8,405 

Leaving an excess of $8,465, to defray the pay of jurors. And 
none will^believe that this large excess is required to pay the com- 
pensation allowed to them by the law. 

These facts must satisfy every citizen that the Legislature of 
this State have wasted our resources with an unsparing hand : 
And the period has arrived for us to arouse and enquire, if a cl.iinge 
is not absolutely necessary and expedient. And if it is, we oujiht 
to remove such up watchful and unworthy servants, and substiti:te 
others fresh from the people, who knowing our grievances and teei- 
"ing our wrongs, will be willing to redress them= 



4- ■ 

Jtet us enquire and iHvestigTie into the caases of this great in« 
oreaM- m slate expividiture. We will state a few ot liieae appro- 
prur. >.js. to stiow lo »vhat purposes nur moae^ has been in pried. 
—At June Sessiou, 182i, tiie General Assembl) pusbeU tiir lol- 
low'iii^ V lie — 

" V^■i.id, That the sum of two hundred J)ollar9 be p.iid to 
€har}-^> (jv.esj, Irom ilie Gen ral Treasury, for his services in cap- 
yifi,; :u . b:'<»ks of ancient recortis, ayreedbly to tlie resolutions of 
Iht* G :ii' ra! Asr^ernbly in January i^-^-4, us bocm as he sliail depo- 
sitt^ toe said co,o!<is in the Secretary's Office.'" Tins is liigiily ex- 
travant for copyiti^ two books of conun(jn records, and no one has 
je' jiorined us ol'the necessity of prucarm^ < .<pies y! ttitiii, and 
noup occurs cxceptinji to o[ratifY the literar) curiosity ol the anti- 
quarian Stale purp<)9; ■ .iid not demand the appropriation, and 
the committee wlio wete appointed, nor the resolmions upon winch 
th" vote was founded, have .-lated any case in vviucii it was necos- 
»ar} that the records should l)e used. 

At the January Session, H-28, " Voted and Resolved, That 
the sum of two hnndred i/oliars be paid out of the Ge.ieral Trea- 
sury to Henry Bowen, foi his services in !uil for coiiectiuif :vnfl 
copviiig the ancient records of this Staie (tlien colony) from the 
jear !dS6 to 1715, and rt>riipnrii}(j the same." Another exj/sudi- 
*ture equally as extravagant and uselt ss. 

And at June Session 1827, the following appropriation was 
toade. 

" Voted and Resolved, That th-; gum of rwv. nu.voR d Dox.t.arp 
b« appropriated and paid outof tfie Treasury, to the Rhode inland 
Historionl Society, for the purpose of aiding and assisting titai So- 
ciety in carryi?ig into ettect the objects of the incorporaii<»:i, viz. 
to colipcf rind preserve whatever relates to the typonfrapl^.y, antiqui- 
ties, and natunil. civil and ecclesiastical history of this State," 

At the jHiiuary Session, 1827, it was '* Voted and Kesolved. 
That from and aftei the first Wednesday in Mm/ Insf. there be 
paid to the Secretary of State t* e sum of one hundred Dollars per 
annum in addition to his present salary, to hi; paid quarterly out of 
the General Treasury.' Whnt should be t'le reason of this addi- 
tion ? The Secretary was already allowed .t(i>() per annum as a 
salary, bpsid<^a his fees allowed by law, vid. State Law, pace 103. 
sec. 4 — The Secretary's is a responsible but not an onerous duty, 
the duties of the office do not absorb the whole of his time ; he 
prartices law in addition to the duties of this office. Did this Tn- 
cum'>ent corrmlain ? Did he attempt to resic i ? No, it is one o 
the best offices in the State. Then whv raise the salary ? In this 
•n: of hiffh salaries nnd profuse expenditure 1 It is pleasant to be 
donors lit the public expense. 

At !he same session, th.^ spirit of liberality was further ffxtrnded. 
Tl;'^ new Supreri'e fV.urt Act was passed, decreasipa he nmnber 
of !edj/rs fr'pi five, at the vesrlv cofi;pensatiori of ^'If'o'^. 'o three, 
at the ioereased ccmpensation of $1740 annoally, and since ikcia 



.5 

^iujtlier a«t waa paBse<l giving this Court the etUiies of insolveat 
pei.iiiiiis ii) r.rMitioii, winch increases liieir pay to I'iJO''*) per \t'ar. 
Ti.t; Lctiidatute iii this measure uot only iniitivatcd upon oui an- 
oie-.t custiluiioti, customs and oounly rights, but iiave given 5.55tt 
to ■^.icli ot' the sidp Judgf.s wlien the saiiip men, viz. Bray ton and 
Ra;..'rfl!, won- ailiini; and d^Jsirous to serve at the annual salary of 
.f2§'r racn, the inrni«r compensation. VVhai solution can be gi.ven 
to 'his I VVliut jirutif'nt man ever gave a laborer one dollar pc-i day 
when iiaif of' tuat sum was only demanded ? Leijjslators should 
conduct the affairs of the republn*, a? a prudent man would coiuJuct 
hiH own affairs. And it is asked if one of our common ciMzens 
shoui-^i niauaije his concerns after this nuainer ; as members of the 
Court .,'•■ Proltaif siiouid we not put him under truardians ? Just as 
if Hit' legal kuowledgf of the Juoges would rxpand in proportion 
to ti -^ extr;ivagancy of their salaries. And the Senate who con- 
cut re > in ihis^ measure again present themselves to us for renewal 
Oi i.!V.. r 

Hut innovation un^i^^r the color of improvement is not to resi 
here, the fiat froiJi head quarters has already acne forth and your 
Courts of Common Pleiis are to be intrcnci i d upon as soon as vir- 
i5um>tances will p<>rniit. The. AJanufacturers- Journal, under date 
of January 3th \asi, whose editor assui.ies to control and mould 
our .Senate to his likiUiT, has issufd tlife following decree, which 
the mernber.s ot his own creation vvill not dare disobey. 

" The question naturally ocrr.rs, if three judges with a salary^ 
are better for the Supreme Judicial Court ti.an five, why wnuhl not 
thre.^ be also better for the C muis of Common Pleas ? The pay 
received by the five Judges of :..■ Court of Common Pleas lor this 
county, divi.ied among three, would amount to something respect- 
able, and induce those three to qualify themselves for the discharo-e 
of the important duties of a Jud^e. Three could certainly do the 
business of the Court without inconvenience. Manv advantaoes 
would arise from thft reduction of the number. There would be 
more despatch and certainty in the jaw, and the only possible evii 
would be the displacing of two supernumerary Judges. They 
^'ould lose their appointments, but the public he the gainer. The 
example has been set in the Supreme Court ; the experiment suc- 
ceeded to a charm. Why not try it on tlie Common Pleas ? The 
people are prepared for the change, and will sustain the Legisla- 
ture if it attempts one." 

Thf fees of the Judges in Providence County amount to about 
$2'^<.''r a vear, that would give three, the numl)er contemplated, 
aenrlv v'TOO a year ^ach, and as the County Judges are to receive 
snh<ries under the new arrangement, (say $">{){) per year each,) 
it w iii'd iid ' H hands tme item to our already overburdened trea- 
*"'■' ; "^'i ' ' ':-<^ resources derjvfH from taxes on Banks, nr.w liti- 
gated, ffheviid fail ui, a re«ort to Jirec taxation on lands most he 



ii;niiedi;ite, to an a»oui:l involving Uie landlniUiers' ruin. Tliis, 
in the languatr« of iho etale manager, " would be succeeding to a 
chiinn, tlie public being a gainer ; and the people," says he, 
'' would susiiia the Lfgislaturo should tliev atteoipt it." And 
the furtlier niproveraent of increasing the term of s-iMviee of the 
Judges to six years instead of the present annual election ; and 
then for good behavior or life, which is in contemplation, and t!ie 
•^resent Senatf- are advocated as being friendly to the measure, 
the pv.-cple will have rivetied uf)on them the most odious features of 
the late constitution engendered by a convention at fSewport, and 
which once we have indignantly rejected. — The pro.x advocated 
by the Journal, American, and other presses confederated for its 
election, were the conspicuous advocates for the adoption of tiiat 
eonstitution ; and the majority of the members composing that 
pro.x, viz. the present Senate, Wliealon, Cooke, vN'atson, I'homas 
Whipple, Eldred, Cross, and Burton, zealously exerted their influ- 
ence to effect it. And upon its success depends these contempla- 
ted changes in the organization of our ancient system of Courts 
and our fundamental laws of representation. Yes, the next step 
in progress is to remodel the representation in the General Assem- 
bly, and to district the State for Senators, and the constitution, 
which has been so triumphantly rejected, will be irrevocably fixed 
upon us. Thus accomplishing indirectly what you have directly 
voted dosvn. 

Within the last year, the Senate have been strangely inert and 
nervele.ss in holding the purse-strings of the State, and their laxity 
in moral courage thre •ten'? approaching beggary. The doors of 
the treasury are thrown open to projectors and favorites, and they 
have felt no diffidence in profiting by tue indulgence. For exam- 
ple, at October Session last, the Assembly passed the following 
tote. 

" Resolved that Benjamin Hazard, Henry Bull, and Joseph L. 
Tillinghast, be and they arc apiointed a committee to cause a 
tomb tl> be erected over the grave of Commodore Oliver H. Perry, 
and that said com nittee be autliorised to draw on the General 
Treasury for the sum of two hundred Dollars, or so much thereof 
as may be necessary to enable them to carry the esolution into 
effect." 

It is admitted that this native son o*" Rhode Island covered the 
Union with the glory of his achievement, and shed an enviable 
brightness and lustre on our national character. Over his virtues, 
his'character or his grave, God forbid, that any one should cast a 
shade. Yet it is not improper for us to inquire, that as he died in 
the national service, and the victory he won was a national victory, 
ou'j-ht not the -^arih thai, covers him to have been ornamented by 
national munificence out of tiie national treasury. A single re- 
quest from our Legislature to the General Government, or motion 
from one of our members in Congress, would have relieved our 
State Treasury from a burden, creditable t» ©urselves and honor- 



able to oar country. And divosting ourselves of a delicacy tliAt 
n.av not ri^!M iniy belong lo us, ui ua a>k ourselves, i1 the reiriiiJiis 
ol CoiMu;o<lore i erry are tniitled to a iiiuusoleum ? Are not other 
Teiifrauu ami UK-luifr')ished cliaracters ol our Staie also entitled to 
a !ii;iri)U^ oulumii, itllnig to po&leiity on what hill their ashes re- 
posL '! We are bound to be just as well as generous. And wiiat 
slab Iras beeu erected by State authority denoting the spot where 
r pKse tii(^ consecrated bones ni Roger W dlianis, the ibunder of 
(, >■ ii\n.- ? State niuniiKence has left uiicov< red the sacred re- 
n..uns o! those devt)teu and conqnering f'jriy, who spilt their life 
b:' oil in ihf ^'rtai battle ol the si Ivatiun of the whjtes against the 
t' manavvk and scalj.aug knite oi the native Narraganst tts. Tlie 
gi ves ol Hopkins, VVhip|)le aii(! Oiney, and a host ot other heroic 
an«; veneiat<^d n:imes, remain still unlioiiored, — h prece<;en( like 
ti;<- Oil!' iiicntioiied once established, and the ice once broken, the 
Legislature with an ill grace, can resist future applications, for 
like purp(;ses, on their piide and example. 

Ai tl'is same session the Legislature passed another rote, al- 
lowing Betijumin Hazard and Albert C Greene |' 100 each for 
th« ir prolt ssional seivice^ in the actions of the Providence 
Banks against the Slate. IVovv what did lliese Gmtlnnni Lmrycrs 
d( ? Under the direction of the committee appointed by the Gene- 
ral Assembly, they filed similar pleas in these cases ; there wtre 
no s])ceches nor arguments. By consent, one of the cfises was ap- 
pealed to the Supreme Court of the Uinted States, the others to 
aliide the result of the decision of the one appealed. This was 
the nature and extent of the services rendered, and ten Dollars 
each would have been an ample reward. \ eX the Senate wer^ 
too tmiul to reject such an exhoibitant allowance, nor dated to d» 
justice to an impoverished people ior lear of off'Miding two Law- 
yers. Such a feeble body aie not entitled to the ballots of free- 
men — And yet further in the case that was appealed, they hav# 
voted Mr. Hazard §500 more, in order that he might repair to Wash- 
ingion to superintend its mere continuance, when in all probabili- 
ty, i v\ill not be tried in two or three }ear9. Yes ; the General 
A-;embly have dispatched Mi. Hazard to Washington to argue a 
c nstitntional question, whether the Legislature have the constitu- 
tH.nal power to tax the Banks, at $500 expense at the outset. 
Corn 50 cents per bushel, cheese, beef and pork at 5 cents per 
pound, and send a Lawyer to Washington at f^oOO expense, only 
to see that a suit at law is entered and continued I ! ! Farmers, pon- 
der on these things, and fearlessly act tor youiselvs. A deliberate 
Senate, that will not better deliberate for your interest than this, 
oujjht to be indignantly ejected from their seats. 

Another si:bject came before the Senate in October last, of mor« 
importance in its consequences, and involving in its results, the 
destiny of you all. State bankruptcy, individual distress and po- 
vwtj depend upoB the erentfal issue, viz. the paymeRt ©f tli« 



SkfATK Bkb» — -Eachariah Allen, of ProTiden«e, intro^ueed tLe 
f6llouini/ rt;Hf>lution : 

** Ttie Co 1 n mi t tee to whom was referred the subject of the State 
debt and tlie petition of Joiiattiau B.)vvci) a:id ottiers, respectfully 
report. 

That there are Notes or Certificates of various sums duf> frora 
the State of Riiod '-island to several iiidivi luais, which certificates 
fcave been held by t:i»in for many V'^ars, without receiviiior at)V oart 
of the iiuerest or principle du on ^aiJ N )lP3 It appt^rs thai )« 
sev >ral occasions s><iii3 have been sft :;])art and apjiropriatcd by 
the Stat^! for the purchase of said Notes, and that the avcraj" lute 

Said for the same was about G5 per cent, upon the original am .not 
lereof, without interest. 
From the acknowledged justice of these claims agninst the State^ 
3'our Committee cannot hesitate in recomnieudino tiiat an a] pro- 
priation be made for the payuient of the inter»'st wnich v'^hall htTfe' 
ifter accrue thereon, (should it not be deemed expfflient to make 
an immediate appropriation for the payment <)t the principal ot -aid 
debt) as an act of public justice, and an example of govod fait' . due 
from a State to its citizens. The v^ommitleg therefore respectluN 
Fy submit the following resolution : 

Voted and Resolved, 1 hdt the General Treasurer receive and 
register all Notes and Certificates of the debt now due from the 
Slate of Rh lie-Island, \vhich shall be presented and proved be- 
fore him previous to the first lay of January l8:^0; and that new 
oertiricates i)f said debts, sii^ned by the Treasurer of this Stat'^, be 
issued, bearing an inter'^st of four per cent, per annum, pavable at 
£he office of the 'I'reasuier of this State,, on and after the fir^t .Ia\- 
of January in every year succeeding the first day oFTmuary. IS^W 
Tliis act was remodelled and passed the House Nov. 21, 18*28 
as follows, and is now before 'he lenaie. 

Br if enacted by the Gmpral Assembly, and by the an'horitu 
thereof it in enacted, That the General Treasurer of this Sia'e be 
. authorized, directed and empowered to pay, out of any monies in 
the Treasury, on and after the first day of January, I '^•29, one years 
interest, at the rate of four per cent, per annmn, upon the am')iint 
«f the face of the Notes or Cestificates due from this State, to al] 
SBch holders thereof as shall then and thereafter riurrender un paid 
Notes or Certificates, and leceive iu lieu thereof new Notes for the 
amount of the face of th'' !Vot?s or Certificates so surrendered up, 
dat.^d on the first day of Janu iry, as af^)resaid, to be si:Jne(!, regw 
istered and issued by the Treasurer f)f this State, and bearing aa 
rnt'^rest, at the rate of four per cent per annum, payabi- at the 
•ffice of the said Trea-ur^r, on and after the firs? day rjf J:n)uary 
fn each and every year sncc-e^'inor th'' fir."' dav >l JuiUarv a;"or.".said. 
And he if fnrtlip' "n'l-- I, I'nai i.r fuvdo' mi iu 1 perform- 
^Rce of thitt aet the faith of the State is hereby pledged." 



9 

The yoaag meiubers uot understanding the circumstances out 
of 'xiiicl! tins -.('teiidod debt arose, the reM)lution w.t.soui .iiuch ' 
deliopraiion pii^.^ed the House. It was s-eul to tiio Seii.ile - .a in- 
iluential member urevented the ready assent ol tliat body, and uro- 
cur'eda posipoiiiiieiit. The Senate had time during the lecess to 
investigate into tiie history ol' tins debt, and at tlieir Januar) Sess- 
ion last, instead ofrejectmg the net in tutu, have iurther posponed 
it, Willi an inteiiliun, it is leaied, of concurring m the measure af- 
ter laeirre eleclion. Fellow Citizens, let us enquire into the his- 
tory of the pretended Statk Di:bx, as few of you are old enourli to 
recollect the time and circumstances out of which it grew, in the 
Revolutionary war the contedera.ed Congress passed an act, that 
foi ;dl the expenses that sUuuld accrue, and lor ail supplies h.at 
should be furnished, and for all damag; s susia.ned in d.-huce 
aganist the common enemy, the same should be paid for by ihe U. 
Sl:ites, tn be liquidated by the Slates. At the close of th<: tt evo- 
lutionary war, the General Assembly, in conformity to the act of 
the confederate Congress, i^sued notice to all those who had c1l;itis 
against the U. States, for supplies furnished, services rendered, or 
had sustained damages in the course of that eveniful stru^gli . to 
brinir them in and have them adjusted, tVcilthey migiit be p--eM Dt- 
ed in a form the most imposing against the U. S. ibr assui'i j;;on. 
And agreeably to this notice their claims were presentee' lo liie 
Legislature of this State, and were liquidated accordingly. And 
as notes were considered the most ('.irect and [jalpabh- siiaf^- in 
which the debts due to the people of this State could be prei-euted 
and enforced against the U S. and the best evidence ol the amount 
of the debts. State notes were issued to the ascertained amonru of 
these claims, it being the understanding, meaning and intention of 
all parti; s, at the time, that these notes were only evidences oi'tiie 
individual debts against the U. S. as ascertained by the Legisla- 
ture. And as most of the members of the Assembly, and pernaps 
all, and a great majority of the people were creditors, (Rl;ode- 
Island suffering from the war in far greater projjortion than any 
State in the Union) it was popular to niake liberal allowances to the 
claimants. And there being no adverse party to investigate into, 
or object to these claims, Notes to an immense amount were is- 
sued as the ascertained amount (d' these claims, all parties under- 
standing that these notes vvery only used as itie best mode thai could 
be devised to shape these demands against the U States. The claim- 
ants would not at that time have waived their rights against the U. 
S. and have accepted of State obligati(vns in lieu of them; the 
State at that time being insolvent and wholly unable to pay the 
bills of credit that had been issued ; and such was the distress and 
embarrassments of the people vvhen peace commenced, that the 
stock of the common farmers were sold at the pul^ltc posts for the 
pay.'i^'nt o! »heir ;>r i::!'i'y ti^ip^^. And this reason is siiffieient to 
demonstrate tliat no Legislature would fee mad enoiagh t» have at- 



m 

te«ipte«J to funJ a debt against the people wlucli all the property ©f 
tht: Siaie at no period would have been sufiicient to have dihcliarg- 
ad. And the liolders would have been equally as delirious to liave 
endeaiored to oL)tain a security so invalid. And as conclusive ev- 
idt.ncs, demonstrating the intention of both parlies, upon the adop- 
tion of the constitution, tins debt was presented against the U. S. 
and liieydid assume and fund $*^0(),0(»0, ano the residue rejected, 
the claims upon investigations, proving to be unjust and irregular: 
And the noti's now out, standing against this titate, called the 
St.4Te Debt, an; the notes founded on the claims that were af- 
terwards rejected by Congress as invalid and unjust. After their 
rejection by Congress, and the State not being liable for the pay- 
ment, having only lent tlje claimants their name and aid in the 
shape olStatp assumption, the better to enable the holders to pro- 
cure their payment by the U. S. they fell into immediate disrepnte 
and were considered of no value. Speculators since that period 
have bought up these notes at administrator's sales and otherwise, 
for little or nothing (and the family of the mover of this resolution 
is reported to be largely interested in its adoption,) in expectation 
that some period might arrive when the history and circumstances 
of these notes mighi be forgotten, or through some false principle 
of honor or inattention, the Legislature might be induced to fund, 
or Older their payment. The young gentlemen in the Assembly 
have given frequent evidences of maidni greatness by maiden 
spef^ches upon the honor of paying our State debt ; honestly, 
though ignorantly supposing, that it was a jusi debt, because the 
speculators called it the State Dkbt, and the printers called it the 
State Dkbt. And but fevr are now living who were at its birth 
anil its burial, and fewer who have taken the trouble to be inform- 
e<l i)n a subject so important. 

The resolution is to fund a pertain amount of this debt and pay 
the it terest annually, while most of the members are ignorant of 
jts amount. In the year 1819 the principal, exclusive of interest, 
was .$ 68,313,88, as near as could be ascertained. This sum, and 
the compound interest from the close of the Revolutionary war, 
(and if the principal is due, compound interest is as equitably due 
as the principal,) will amount to near or quite HALF a Mil. LION 
of DOLLARS, Theo the question is put to you, will you saddle 
upon your own backs, and leave a mortgage upon the inheritance 
ofvour children and descendants, to the amount of HALF a 
Mil LION of DOLLARS beyond your and their ability to re- 
deem ; to pay a debt to unprincipled speculators that we nor our 
fathers ever owed. Remember your fathers have suffered and 
shed their best blood to free us from foreign bondage, and shall we 
per nit ourselves and our children to be hehj in vassalage and im- 
prisonment by domestic sp'-culators ? Our ancestors used their 
swords, and it is for us to deiermine at the Polls whether we wiH 
longer support those, that are willing to make is slaves to aristo- 
crats and speculators. 

» 



11 

A Bill was iBtroducc] into the House of Representatifes some 
sessions since, to repral the 27th section in tiie Digest of this 
State, pag(^ .'Jle^, in liiese words . 

" And be it further enacted, That all estates, real or personal, 
granted or appropriated to religious purpfisps or to the usrot schools 
or seminaries of learning within this State, be and the same are 
hereby exempted from taxation." 

The House at their October Session last, passed the act of re- 
peal by a considerable majority. The Senate refused to concur, 
and postponed it t(/ the session succeeding their re-election. 1q 
this measure the House spoke the voice of an almost unanimuus 
people, but the Senate under the influence of the Providence aris- 
tocracy, silting like an incubus, threatening death to our hberties, 
postponed the bill, on motion of Senator Smith, of North Kings- 
town, upon the colorable suggestion, that fhere was too mucit ex- 
citement. What ? because an injured people are restive under 
oppressiou, assigned as a rpason why the burden should be lonjier 
borne ? A Maliomedan Pacha would have given a better one. 
Was, and is it not reasonable and just, that taxation should bear 
as equally as possible u[)on all classes of the community ? Should 
rich and wealthy corporations and institutions, or any particular 
denomination of Christians, have their property exempted from 
taxation, and the public burdens, and the taxation from which 
they are exempted, borne by the other classes, of diminished abi- 
lity to sustain them ? Is the doctrine of Priestcraft to overspread 
the land of Roger Williams ? Facts speak in language not to be 
misunderstood. The committee appointed by the General Assem- 
bly to investigate into this subject reported, that in one town only 
in this State more than a mili ion of property is exempted by the 
operation of the 27th section from taxation. Providence, Newport, 
Bristol, Middletown, South and North Kingstown, feel with seve- 
rity the operations of this act, and large estates are held in several 
towns by literary and religious institutions, situated without the 
State — leases for 999 years, equal to all intents and purjiuses to a 
deed, have been taken of some of these farms and the purchasers 
now hold them exempted from taxation. And yet other citizens of 
the same towns, less wealthy than these lessees, have to pay the 
taxes which ought to be assessed on them. For instance in South 
Kingstown, is there any reason, that the other freeholders should 
pay the taxes on the lands holden bv Rowland Hazard and Elis'^ia 
Watson (our Senator,) two of the most wealthy men in that town 1 
Answer for yourselves. The small freeholders in the town of ."ro- 
Tidence are oppressed with taxes, while an immense amount of 
property, viz. a million, is exempted by the act, and consequently 
nioip oppressive or; the oth( r estates in it. This remnant of monk- 
ish su,jerstition and regal prerogative now stands on our sti'tute 
book, the shame and disgrace of tiie age in which we live. And 
yet our Senate are to^^ w©<ik and ;. usillaoiivjus to concur .: a 
m easare to relieve os from an oppression so gross and anjnst. 



12 

'Jjhe plaiu niattor of fact is, that the Lord Autocrats of the Stai;* 
have iv ,,'d iinl itiimrtd our Senate out ol tln-ir i!id<q)eiideuce, or 
they u.ive forgoiien or uegiucted the great interest-^ oi">iie people. 
!t oeiioves OS t;> be awake and actively alive, whnn we see the 
int^ r-'si of the lamiliolder and tenant as seriousiy attacked and 
ieop,udizf".i as conUMnplated by tiie act which luis already pas.-<ed 
Its second reading in the House and is now postponed to the next 
^gsion — viz.— 

An Act providing for the use nf Broad Rimmed Wheels 
Sic. I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly and by the au- ■ 
thority thereof it is enacted, That from and after two years from 
the passage of this acl, the wheel> of every waggon, carriage or 
vehicle, built or rimmed anew, and drawn by three l)easts, (except- 
inn pleasure cairiages,) passing U|)oii or over any common high- 
way or turnj'ik" within tins State, shall have fellows not less than 
four inches in width, and if drawn i)v more tiian two beasts, the 
said w.iggon or otiior vehicle (excepting as aforesaid) shall have 
fellows not less than five inches in width. Provided, That the 
wheels of stage coaches passing as aforesaid may have fellov^s only 
four inches in widtli. 

Ser. '2. Be it further enacted, That the owner or owners, anf>. 
also the driver of every waggon, carriage, or other vehicle, having 
wheels contrary to the provisions of this act, who shall drive or 
suffi > the same to be driven, upon or )Vpr any common highway, 
or turnpike within this State, shall f .tfeit and pay for each offence 
a sum not less than five dollars nor more than twenty dollars, to 
the use of the Town, District, or Turnpike Corporation, liable by 
Jaw to support the highway or turnpike upon which the offence 
shall have been committed, to be recovered before any Justice of 
the Peace within and for the County within which the offence shall 
have been committed, not being a member of the Turnpike Cot- 
poratiqn or an inhabitnnt of the town or district liable for the sup- 
port of the copmion higliway or turnpike as aforesaid — Provided 
hi"vrvcr, that no prosecution shall be sustained under the provi- 
sions of this act, which shall not be commenced within ninety days 
from the commission of the offence, upon the complaint ot one of 
the Surveyors of highways, or of the I'reasurer of the Turnpike 
Corporation within the i'own or District liable for the support of 
th"^ road np^on which the offence shall have been committed, to a 
Justice of the Peace having cosnizance of such offence. And 
provided fvrihcr, that the provision? of this act shall not extend or 
be applied to any carriages passing upon or over atiy of the roads 
afor'sairl, solely for the purposes of common husbandry. 

Sec. 3". Be it further enacted, That this act shall be published 
in the months oT January nnd June in each year for the term of 
two venrs in 'ill 'he news"apers p'^inted in t'ii« State, in w!:ich the 
laws of fh'- "^J: I" are pnblisho-', niv' shall also be read at the an- 
nual town meetings for the same term of years. 



l^his act same of the members of the Senate openly avovt a de- 
termination to supf>ort, and yet no one mt;ir^ure ol' its magnitnde 
Wiiii!(i be so opprestiive and vexations to the landed interest, and 
particulaily so to the tenantry of tiie State. Carts, wliich cost 
front .5i) iO 70 Dollars puch, must be thrown into disuse, or if the 
use IS attempted, it woulJ be at tlie expense ot prosecution, and a 
new one obtMin^o at an in.^reasfd expense in iirc under additional 
duty upon iion. «vhich at flu; present ajriculiui al crisis would be 
oriielly unji'st, d to the tenant an onerous iiem in arlditiou to 
his rent. Tois ; <11, with othrr measures, exhibit a curious phe- 
nomena ; that hilc other interests are enjoying protection from 
liiirh duties throng legislative enactment, the agricultural, dis- 
tressed as it is, sho'ild he selected for burdensome exaction ; re- 
garded like the animal composing the stock of their farms, which 
will quietly lie dowt. to he shom without coniplaint. With all 
these evidences staiiny us .n thr face, can the farmers give this 
Senate their sOpport ? If from among us tliey are against us, our 
duty is imperative to discar.l them and select others, who knowing 
Our interests will r<'speci then.. And rfiect w it). out hesitation a 
bill introduced at the insance ol Turnpike proprietors to increase 
their per centum u[>.»n roads exclusively an(! arbitrarily their own. 

There is in embrio another snlijf-ct which threatens the treasury 
witii a serious encr'-aciiment Messrs. J. L. Tiliinghast, Tixon, 
and Haile, were a committ^re ,o renort upon the expediency of edu- 
oatii.g the Deaf aud D. mh, at the Hartford Asylum ; the rf^port 
Wa< made to the last session of the Asst mbly and the measure re~ 
COii'it'ended, and ti:e expenses vvliich other States |>aid were stated 
at $115 for each person yearly, and timt there were 45 of that un- 
fortunate class in the State, and that four years were necessary t© 
complete the education of each pupil, amounting to $5,175 ex- 
pense yearly, and .*20,700 for the whole four years. However 
philanthropic and benevolent all this may be, the cost ought to be 
countid and our ability ascertained whether we could bear such 
an immense burden, before we enter into a contract from which 
we cannot retreat withn it dishonor. This humane and benevolent 
act in other States has been performed by charitable societies and 
religiously disjiosed institutions, and the expenses paid by contri- 
bution^ from the lium ne and wealthy. Sr it would be and has 
been doiip by similar societies in this State, but the Lawyer trium- 
virate of Tiliinghast, i^ixon, and H. Y. Cranston, dictators of the 
majority in the Assemblv, seem disposed to exhaust our treasury 
wit'i innumerable splendid projects at the expense of others. Caa 
anr! will the people consent to entei into a contract like the one 
pre'osed, upon the recotiimendation of men who pay no taxes 
themselves and are reckless of the burdens imposed upon others ? 
These projectors have been fertile in expedients to draw out of the 
treasury the people's money, but have not devised or pursued any 
dicresffj plan to renhce it. It is high Umt we aros^ and put into 
shad this Jti.tta rf Lawyere, wrought into notice by paid puffs in 
newspaper paragraphs. 



14 

A subject came up the last session of the Assembly, illustratire 
of the 2ourse of thrs Junta of Lawyers, and of tlie proditiality of 
the present administration of our State government. It was the 
repeal of the Fawcatuck river Jisk act. John Wliipp'e, (a lawyer 
who never labors under pricp,) i'homas Whipple and Uavii' VViI- 
kinson, were appointed a committee to confer with a committee 
from Connecticut, on the subject of the fislieries in this river. It 
being a subject of private interest with certain landed proprietors 
about mill and factory dams and water privilrges, the parties inte- 
rested in the increase of the value of their private property otfered 
to pay the expense of the committee, but Messrs. Tillinghast, Z. 
Allen and Dixon, (the latter sent by Westerly, but acts as a fifth 
representation for Providence,) advocated warmly, that the com- 
mittee should be paid by the 8tate instead of the parties, although 
the parties applying were willing to bear the expenditure ; thus 
attempting to cast on the people from three to five hundred dollars 
expense to compensate a committee appointed for a private pur- 
pose, when the applicants were ready and willing to defray it. 

Our alarm ought to be excited at a proposition in agitation 
which will complete if effected, the prostration of the land-^d inte- 
rest, and strip us of all the rights and privileges attached to and 
protective of property. Many in this State are clamerous for Freb 
Suffrage, and meetings in Providence and other places have been 
©ailed, of 7ion freeholders, to petition the General Assembly to ex- 
tend to every male over '21 years of age the elective franchise, and 
aided by presses established for the purpose, are vociferous on the 
subject. And at the late meeting in Pawtucket, of which Barney 
Merry (a great manufacturer) was chairman, it was vauntingly 
stated, that there are at least twelve thousand free white male 
inhabitants in this State over 21 years of age," who are to be em- 
braced in this extension ; which is double the number of the pre- 
sent qualified freemen. And upon the adoption of this favorite 
proposition, the landed interest would be liable to be voted down, 
by a professed majority of two to nrif, by those who would not be 
assessed one cent in the taxes and subjected to the burdens they 
might judge proper to impose. And it is worse than senseless to 
suppose that any restriction would add to our safety, for such a ma- 
jority as this measure would create, would disregard, or cause the 
representatives, by whose vote they would be elected, to repeal 
them. The Farmers are reluctant to believe that this intended 
improv^mfint is the boasted " American System" and protection of 
*' Domestic Manufactures" which was to be encouraged It it 
the " warmed adder," whose poison would work their death. 

A measure of this character would give the rich power in pro- 
portion to their wealth, and the great manufacturers, bankers, 
merchants and large capitalists, with the means that are in their 
hands, would control the destinies of the State at pleasure. The 
property to be taxed, and the mode of taxation, would be directed 
hj a class of citizens, who would bear noue of its burdens ; an^ 



16 

ve should be at ao I088 to conjecture, that the whole of oui inter- 
ual n-Vfiiue sysu'm would uiidergct an imniediate repeal, and the 
Slate btirtiw'ns be thro-vn on real estate. In a sliort period c<»r- 
rupiioii would be reduced to a system, and arrangements organized 
eftVouiuil) to transfer the powers ol election troni the landed in- 
teres^t, to which it is rijihtlully attached, into the hands ot a few. 
Tiie great maiiulacioiies, ilit Banks and wealthy nierehants might 
each send trom KfO 10 JiOO voters to the polls. And it is greatly 
to Ite regretted that the er.i of fraudulent tij'r deed voting is again 
attempted to be revived in a more objectional shape Every one 
must see the results. And from the consequences to be produced., 
it is to be hoped that not a single landholder who values his rights, 
will stand an idle .-spectator or be absent from the polls when this 
unblushing attempt is made by insolvent politicians to improve their 
foriunes at the expense ot the dearest privileges of the soil. And 
it was to be hoped, for the honor of our .""tale, that none could have 
been found bold enough to have avowed an open determination to 
put down the landed interest at a blow, which universal suffrage 
would most assuredly and effectually do. And it can scarcely be 
credited, that the sober steady and reflecting portion of the com- 
munity, who value the stability of our institutions, and the glory 
of the republic, would entrust their own and the destiny of their 
descendants, in the hands of a population so transient and waver- 
ing ; when all can obtain the necessary qualifications to legitimately 
act with us, if they had the disposition to make the investment. 
And It IS an indispensable requisite that tnoee who have the power 
to create burthens, should be liable to bear a due proportion of 
them when imposed. Justice, equity, and the inherent principles^ 
upon which our institutions are founded, require it, and only the 
foes to good government would dissent from a doctrine so funda- 
mentally necessary and reasonable. 

To the intent that the previous abuses upon our rights should be 
corrected, and our State be preserved inviolate ftom waste and 
further encroachment, a convention which assembled in Provi- 
dence on the 15th January last, composed of delegated freemen, 
firm in purpose and devoted to your rights, and the welfare of the 
State, fortned and have submitted to you the following prox of Ge- 
CTal Officers for approval on the 3d Wednesday of April next, 

FOR GOVERNOR 

JAMES FFN]?rER, 

OF PROVIDENCE. ' 

LIRUTKNANT GOVKRNOR 

CHARI.E8 COLLINS. 

UF NEWPORT. 



SENATORS. 

I NATHAN RROWN, ofJohnstoB 
? JOHN P'WOLF, of Briatal. 



II) 

-8 NOEL F"^^!? :»RN, ofN. Kingitowu. 
4 ISA \(. AR Ei.,olMi(luletowa. 
fiVVILLlA.i VKilPPLE ol Cumborland. 

6 JEll'H. N. POriER, of S. Kingstown. 

7 GEORGIE HAWKINS, O! Coventry. 

* t H\S. RE.Mh\GTuN, [s. i;.] Warwick. 
9 EDW.-iRD BARBER, olH.pkinton. 
in GEORGE FIELD, ..f Cranston. 

SECRETABy 

HENRY BO WEN. 

ATTORNEY-GEM' liAL 

ALBERl C. GRKE>fE. 

tJf.NEKAL TKEASI RER 

THOMAS C. PlTwAN. 

Voted and resolved uuanirnously, tliat the members of this Cour 
ventioii will use all fair and honorable means to promote tht elec- 
tion of the gentlemen by them nominated as General Officers for 
the ensuing political year. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this Convention together 
with an Address to our Fellow-Citizens, be signed by the Chair- 
man and Secretaries, and published in the Republican Herald and 
the Providence Patriot. 

JOHN R. WATEKMAN, Chairman. 

WILLIAM G. BOWEN, \ ^ . ■ 

JOSEPH H. PATTEN, / ^(^cietancs. 

Let us examine the chaiacters and principles of the men com- 
posing this prox, and then the one adversary to it, and judge ibi 
ours^'lves. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and first Senator, 
are the same in both. 

2d Senator. John D'Wolfe. For many years a Judge of the 
Supreme Court of this State, and a Senator in the Genera] 
Assembly ; a man of firm and established character, and a 
large farmer ; and voluable as a member of the Senate, when 
the affairs of the State were conducted as ably as at present, 
and at one third of the expense that they are now. 

3d Sen. Nof^l Frp^-born. A man of considerable estate, and aK> 
industrious worthy citizen, an uniform lepublican, and a firm 
friend to t!>e landed internst, whose character for integrity 
and independence, has entitled him to tiie esteem and confix 
dence of tlie freemen of the town in nhii'h he lives. 

-4th Sen. Isaac Barker. For many yt^ai''' -i Senator and also a 
Representative in the General As^nmbly, whose unbending 
integrity and devoted attachment to the landed interest were 
never questioned 

STth Sen. Willir^in Whionle. Well known to you all as an oM 
friend of '<ti'rli'>_' nun!, i:. i ;in indi pendent and firm sup- 
]|.orter •! ths internal revenue system, and who was last year 



17 

su3taiiied by the people against the attacks and machiuatioJis 
of its adversaries. 
4th Senator. Jeremiah N. Potter (the nephew of the lale Govern' 
or Samuel J. Potter, the long tried and faitiiful friend of 
Rhode-Island, and the valued companion m office of our la- 
mented Chief Magistrate, the late Arthur Fenner,) is a plain 
and prudent farmer, of undoubted ability, and unostentatious 
integrity, and a decided Republican of the Jefferson school. 
7th Sen. George Hawkins I 

8th Sen. Thomas Remington, B. S. } Are likewise aubstantiat 
farmer.^, who for many years have been, and Mr. Hawkins now 
is, a member of the House of Representative*, influential men, 
and justly enjoying the confidence of the Towns and County 
in Wiiich ihey live. 
9th Sen. Edward Barber. Also a prudent, plain and thriving 
farmer, possessing a character of proverbial honesty, unslia* 
ken integrity, and kind manners ; economical and exemplary 
in hia habits, and a firm friend to the interests of the State. 
10th Sen. George Field. Also a farmer, and for many years 
your Senator, who last year lost his election through the in- 
trigue and management of a combination, for effecting the 
repeal of the internal revenue. If Rhode Island has a friend 
devoted to her best interests, and the people a sentmel to pro 
tect her rights from dishonorable encroachment, and the trea- 
sury from the hungry hands of projectors, it is George Field. 
These candidates are all pleitged to support the internal revenue 
and a judicious system of retrenchment and reform, and it is ne- 
cessary for our individual welfare, and the public prosperity, that 
a salutary reform and retrenchment should be immediately resorted 
to, and that the State adiininistration should be arrested in their 
career of innovation and extravagance, or lijce our sister Massa- 
chusetts, " the granite State," we shall be necessitated to hire 
money to pay our representative roll. — The Secretary, Attorney 
General and General Treasurer having no vote, and the Conven- 
tion ineaning to demonstrate to the people, that the interests of the 
State and our welfare, and not party principle or opposition, were 
their motives, have left them unopposed. 

\ou will all recollect that an attempt was made last year, and a 
serai-successful one, by a combination of Bank holders. Auction- 
eers and Lottery venders, to work the repeal of the internal reve* 
nne system of this State by packing upon you a prox of Senators 
pledged to the purpose. Your vigilance detected and defeated the 
scheme, and our farmers and property saved from an annual bardea 
of $18,000 per year, to be wrung from us by the force of tax gath* 
erers and tax warrants. This year the same game is to be played 
over again, and nothing but the political defeat and prostration of 
this subtle cembination, and their unprincipled coadjutors', can se*- 
cure our safety. And the question is put to us, whether the 
Baaks, which are receiving from .«?.'< to 10 per cent interest upott 
their •apitala, with their exelasive privileges of bank attechtnenW^ 



r- 



Id 

pv«r ordiuary process ; and whether the venders, Auetioneers and 
Brokers, are to pay taxes for their exclusive privileges? or whether 
the taxes, instead of being as they have been, are to be borne by the 
iarmers, who are not receiving three per cent, upon their estates, 
with no exclusive privileges, but those " of hewers of wood or draw- 
ers of water," to the monied aristocracy. 

Th9 candidates in the other prox are guilty of contributing 
to t lie waste and expenditure of the past four years and of 
increasing the Stale expenditures $10,000 more yearly than €► 
oonomy and common prudence required, or our exegencies de- 
manded. And from the influence that the exclusive monopolists 
and bank aristocracy exercise over them, impresses us with fears 
alarming to our interest. And the evidence upon which they rest 
are not of a nature to quiet our apprehensions. ISathan M. Whea- 
♦on, Elisha Watson, Thomas Whipple, Charles Eidred, George D. 
Gross and George Benton, are directors or bank holders, two of 
them, Watson and Eidred are Presidents of Banks, and kave large 
interests in them. Wheaton, Cooke, Whipple, Eidred and Cross 
are small land holders. Here then a majority of the Senate are 
Presidents, Directors, or Stockholders in banks, and far the more. 
Wheaton is a merchant, Cooke, Watson and Whipple are shop- 
keepers, (Watson is also a large land holder, but his interest from 
banks and his other personal property, far exceeds that from his 
lands) Eidred, a physician, and Cross a tanner and currier, and 
none cultivators of our soil. By them Brown and Whipple are 
overruled. 

Farmers look at this bank prox, their interests are adverse to 
yours, and it is never safe to trust those to act for us when it is their 
interest not to do so — they would rather deceive than injure them- 
selves. The combination influence created, and supports this 
prox, and they will be obedient to the will of their creators. If this 
prox is elected, the bank taxes, and the internal revenue duties, will 
be repealed and the State burthens thrown on us, greater than ouf 
ability can sustain. Freemen, arise, assume the armor of inde- 
pendence — Let us gird on our strength and say, we will be free, 
and that unprincipled speculators shall not impose on us and our 
children a debt of HALF A MILLION .that we nor our farthers 
ever owed ; that Bank holders, Lottery venders and brokers shal! 
not throw upon us all the State burthens, nor longer govern the 
land holders, nor impose a prox upon us made by their intrigues 
or subject to their influence. Say to those in power, that they 
have betrayed their trusts and have wasted in extravagant salariea 
and exhorbitant expenses, more than half our Slate resources — 
that they continue upon us that unjust and oppressive law, exempt- 
ing iii'ire than a MILLION of property from taxation, to favor 
priestcraft and monopoly, thereby increasing the burthens of taxa- 
tion heavier upon us — .Say to them they are unworthy servants and 
unfaithful centinels, they are exempted from further service and 
•ur confidence — Yes, Freemen, be fearless, ami repair to the polls 
cSite and all, and gire your rotes to the FARMERS' PROX« 



\£Fe'10 



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